Volleyball Posts 3-1 MASCAC Win Over Salem State

SALEM, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University volleyball team remained unbeaten in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play with a 3-1 victory over Salem State University on Wednesday evening at the Richard O'Keefe Center.

The Bears (12-4, 6-0 MASCAC) won the first two sets, 25-19 and 25-20, before the host Vikings (9-13, 2-5 MASCAC) rallied for a 27-25 decision in the third set. Bridgewater rolled to a 25-11 win in set four to secure the match.

BSU is 37-2 versus Salem since 1994.

Four Bears finished with double-digit kills led by junior Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) with a match-best 15 kills (.324 hitting percentage) to go along with 16 digs, five assists, two aces and an assisted block.

Junior Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) checked in with 14 kills and a .440 hitting percentage in addition to 15 digs, two assists and an ace while senior Meaghan Coutu (Brookline, N.H.) tallied 11 kills and a .450 hitting percentage, and senior Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.) recorded ten kills.

Junior Xin Ai Robinson (Kaiserslautern, Germany) and sophomore Natalie Fredriksen (Plymouth, Mass.) combined for 46 assists for the Bears with Robinson adding 12 digs and an ace to go along with her 24 assists.

Bridgewater posted a .295 hitting percentage for the match and recorded 14 aces with Fredriksen and junior Moriah Baptista (North Dartmouth, Mass.) tallying four aces apiece. Baptista also contributed 12 digs.

Although the Bears recorded 14 aces they all finished with 13 serving errors. It marks the 12th time this season that the Bears have recorded double-digit serving errors and sixth time in the last seven matches.

Senior Presley Shairs (Salem, Mass.) paced Salem State with 13 kills and pair of solo blocks. The Vikings also received a match-best 32 assists from junior Celia Carbone (Lynnfield, Mass.) and 17 digs from senior Kailey Roche (Billerica, Mass.). Junior Sabina Kamanda (Dracut, Mass.), sophomore Bella Cocchia (Westfield, Mass.) and senior Ariana Barrows (Danvers, Mass.) added eight, seven and six kills, respectively for the hosts.

In the opening set, the Bears clung to a 19-17 lead before reeling off four straight points including kills by Crane and Welch as well as a Crane ace. After Salem closed the gap to 23-19, Welch closed out the set with back-to-back kills.

The second set was also tightly contested with Bridgewater holding a late 16-15 lead. The Bears, however, outscored the Vikings, 9-5, down the stretch to pull away for for the 25-20 victory. Five different Bears notched kills down the stretch, including two from Coutu, while Crane, sophomore Charlotte Sullivan (Hyannis, Mass.) and Fredriksen each recorded an ace. Two of Salem's final five points were BSU serving errors.

Salem rallied from an early 11-4 deficit to come away with a 27-25 decision in the third set which featured 13 ties. Trailing 25-24, the Vikings sandwiched a Shairs solo block between a pair of Bridgewater errors to win the set.

Leading 9-7 in the fourth set, the Bears outscored the Vikings, 16-4, the rest of the way to secure the 25-11 win and the match. Crane registered five kills in the final set while Baptista notched three aces.

In upcoming action, Bridgewater entertains MASCAC foe MCLA on Monday evening at six o'clock.